Threats of sanctions against Ukraine look like blackmail - Lavrov

Threats of sanctions against the Ukrainian government look like blackmail, and a demand for early elections is a way to force Kiev towards the EU, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. The sanctions will only encourage extremists, he added.

Lavrov
on Thursday blasted the sanctions against Ukraine, some of which
have already been imposed by the US, and are now being eyed by
the EU, as “double standards.” Such actions will only
encourage extremists to continue violence in the country, he
said.

“The [Ukrainian] opposition cannot or does not want to
dissociate itself from extremists. The US lays all the blame on
the Ukrainian government – this is a double standard,”
Lavrov said.

“The EU is also trying to discuss the imposing of sanctions,
at the same time there are uninvited missions coming to Ukraine.
Such actions resemble blackmail,” the minister said.

Not only are such threats “inappropriate,” but also will
aggravate the conflict in Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokesman,
Aleksandr Lukashevich, has said.

There is “no doubt” there is a “plain coup
attempt” going on in Ukraine, with armed rioters widely
using firearms, the spokesman added.

“We strongly condemn the actions of radicals and extremists,
who are mostly responsible for violence and bloody riots. Serious
responsibility also lies with the opposition, who have been
unable to fulfill the agreements reached with the
government,” Lukashevich said.

The so-called Maidan leaders must “immediately stop
bloodshed” and “continue seeking a peaceful resolution
to the crisis without threats or ultimatums,” he stressed.

Russia’s President Putin, in response to Yanukovich’s proposal,
is going to send ombudsman Vladimir Lukin to Kiev to mediate
talks between the government and the opposition, Kremlin’s
spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, after the two leaders
spoke on the phone.

“It’s well known that Lukin has vast diplomatic service
experience, is admired among rights activists and used to lead a
large opposition party,” Peskov said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukashevich said that there are plenty
of “false flag reports,” such as Russian riot police
taking part in quelling the riots, which are distributed over
social networks and by “some politicians.”

“As regards to the accusations of Russia, there is a proverb
saying that guilty mind is never at ease. We are deeply concerned
with what is happening and how the Western states are commenting
on it and are trying to affect it. In Western media, the
situation is presented in an extremely perverted way, some simple
mantras are hammered into heads like that the West is calling on
the government to keep its hands off Maidan,” Lavrov said.

However, the Western politicians and media prefer not to go into
detail on what is happening on Maidan.

“Police pelted with Molotov cocktails, the killings, the
seizure of buildings – none of that is being commented on or
explained,” the minister said.

The individual sanctions that the US and the EU are trying to
impose are “absolutely illegitimate” from the point of
view of the international law, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The only legitimate sanctions can be imposed by the UN Security
Council, the ministry stressed.

Another senior Russian diplomat said that an information war has
begun in Ukraine creating a dangerous situation.

“Invented stories about mass hostage taking and murders are
being spread via social networking services. All this creates a
very dangerous atmosphere,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Grigoriy Karasin told Rossiya 24 TV channel on Thursday. The
official, who is currently on a working visit to Kiev, saidthe
issue was discussed during his meeting with Ukrainian Foreign
Minister Leonid Kozhara.